Birds of Prey: A New Meaning To Wine Flights

While organic and biodynamic farming methods have been at the forefront of 'winery innovation' throughout the past decade, there's another vineyard sustainability technique that has been steadily increasing in popularity since around 2011: the use of falcons.

Have you ever taken a trip to your local wine country and noticed a staggering amount of large birds of prey in the sky? Well, this could very well be the explanation. You see, wineries are beginning to turn to the guardians of the sky to protect their treasures and keep their vines safe from pesky critters.

Vineyards are a grazing utopia for small birds and rodents such as starlings, blackbirds, mice and chipmunks. In fact, a normal winery can expect to have up to 25% of its vines destroyed as a result of being the banquet of choice for these little critters, so it's no surprise winemakers are adopting this method so openly.

With falconry programs being introduced to wineries across California, New Zealand and Australia on an increasing scale, studies have shown a staggering 20% increase in vine preservation (i.e. grapes not being eaten!). Research has shown that falcons eat up to two small birds and several small rodents as part of their daily diet and cause no other harm to the winemaking process of environment, sound like a good deal, doesn't it?

While some wineries stick to the traditional methods of leaving the falcons to go about their lives solo, others have specifically trained programs. E&J Gallo is a good example of this, training its falcons to not eat the catch that they kill and feeding them later instead. The reasoning behind this is that it can take the average falcon up to 45 minutes to eat its food, enough time for critters to enjoy an all-you-can-eat vine buffet. With several falcons taking hourly shifts throughout the day, E&J have record preservation rates.

But what about the cost? Surely this is an expensive deterrent to implement? Well, not really. Wineries end up spending around the same amount it would cost to have a house cat per falcon, the main reason being that all the food is right there on the doorstep.

So next time you see a bird of prey in the sky overlooking your favorite vineyards, give them a little nod and a thank you. Because of them, you're probably getting a little more wine in that sample pour.